


"thank you, mom"

by zayheathers



Series: sketchbook one-shots/stories [3]
Category: Hilda (Cartoon)
Genre: 2k words of pure fluff, Cookies, Established Relationship, F/F, Found Family, Gen, Parental Feelings, but for the title it's tontu saying it just so you know, johanna adopts tontu and hilda deals with having a sibling, less sketchbook-centric and more family centric, the fact that some characters say 'mum' and others say 'mom' is sometimes confusing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28216959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zayheathers/pseuds/zayheathers
Summary: in which Johanna unknowingly adopts a nisse, Kaisa (rightly so) thinks it's adorable, and Hilda learns what it's like to have a sibling for the first time.oh, and there's cookies.
Relationships: Hilda (Hilda) & Tontu, Johanna | Hilda's Mum & Tontu, Johanna | Hilda's Mum/The Librarian (Hilda)
Series: sketchbook one-shots/stories [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2060220
Comments: 18
Kudos: 114





	"thank you, mom"

“Tontu, I’ve got your breakfast,” Johanna calls out to the kitchen in general, hoping it’ll catch him in his little pocket of Nowhere Space. It’s early morning, and the sun’s only just fully-risen, but Johanna needs time to prepare the food for the mouths she has to feed.

No less than even a minute later—as is the established routine by now—Tontu appears, ready to eat.

“Wait just a minute,” she says as he tries to grab his plate of eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, and toast to-go. He turns towards her, and Johanna knows his expression is guilty and pensive. “Remember what we said?” Tontu nods. “You eat with us, not sitting in your room all by yourself. Now, help me set the table?”

He will, she knows he will. Again, that’s the routine they’ve set up by now. Tontu will come for breakfast, pretend to want to eat it alone. Johanna will tell him that he has to eat it alongside everyone else, and he’ll agree and help her set up the table.

“Sure, Mom,” he says, already grabbing his plate from her hands and a handful of cutlery from the drawer by the kitchen sink.

Johanna tries not to react too much, not to make it too weird, when he calls her that, but she gives him a genuine smile. It had been strange, the first time he’d said it—quickly and in passing, as if he hoped she wouldn’t hear. And she’d been slightly shocked, not knowing what to say to that. So she’d just let it happen.

Turns out, that was the right thing to do; Tontu’s so comfortable now, and she loves it.

“Could you go wake Hilda for me?” She asks him, when he’s finished making both himself and Johanna cups of coffee—straight black for him, and milk with two sugars for his… Mom (and thinking that about herself—his mother—feels awfully nice).

“Can do.” Tontu pads down the hall to Hilda’s room—without a care in the world—knocking on the door, before yelling. “ _ Hilda! Mom says breakfast is ready. _ ”

She smiles. Tontu always loves to rile her daughter however he can. Johanna will admit, it’s gotten easier as the months pass by, and as Tontu has become braver in his attempts.

From inside the room, she hears Hilda grumble, “ _Ugh, Tontu. Couldn’t you wake me up like a normal person?_ _And she’s_ my _mum!_ ” 

Tontu doesn’t laugh or chuckle or give anything away, but she can hear the humour in his voice. “Yeah, sure, whatever. Just get up, I’m hungry.”

Johanna laughs to herself as she sits at the table.

* * *

She’s enjoying a night in with Kaisa, watching a fantasy movie, having some sort of really nice tea that her girlfriend brought, and lying comfortably on the couch.

Actually, to be more specific, Kaisa’s sitting on the left side of the couch, leaning on the armrest, while Johanna sits next to her, feet tucked under herself, and her head resting on Kaisa’s shoulder while the other woman’s arm curls around her waist.

Johanna loves the way they fit together, enjoys the easy intimacy of being pressed against each other, bodies being warmed by the blanket she’d pulled over herself when she’d gotten a little chilly.

Kaisa’s finger traces an unfamiliar pattern on her arm.

Hilda and Twig’re out with Frida and David, while Alfur’s in his room playing around with spreadsheets and data collectors and whatnot. All in all, it’s a quiet night, like most nights—except this time she’s not lonely, because she has Kaisa.

It’s wonderful to know that her company is wanted. Is enjoyed.

“Are you alright?” Kaisa asks, pulling her out of her mind. Her face prettily illuminated by the night sky and the soft glow of the television. “You seem a little lost in thought.”

“Oh, no, I’m just thinking about how quiet it is. No kids, no… crises. Just a nice relaxing evening, not having to worry about anything.”

“It is quite quiet without Hilda around,” Kaisa agrees, pulling her just that bit closer, “and as much as I enjoy having her around, I also like having you to myself.” Johanna smiles, a blush painting her face as Kaisa plants a kiss on her forehead.

They then focus their attention on the movie, Johanna burrowing further into Kaisa’s embrace—when suddenly she can hear soft feet padding the floor.

“Hey, Mom,” a nasally voice calls, and instantly Johanna knows who it is—though she’s not worried, because Tontu rarely brings trouble into her house ( _ it’s her other child that does _ , she reminds herself).

“Hi darling,” she answers, bringing her head up to look at him. It’s rare he comes to her when he knows she has Kaisa around—she wonders if he’s a little scared. 

“Do you have those cookies we made the other day? I’m kinda hungry.” He sounds so earnest, so cute, wringing his hands as he looks up at her from where he’s walked to the other end of the couch.

“Yes,” she says, ignoring the curious look Kaisa gives her, “they should be in the fridge—the plate covered with cling-film. You want me to get it for you?”

“No it’s okay,” he shakes his head and walks towards the kitchen, “I can get it myself. Just came out here for a snack and I’ll be outta your hair.” He sounds lonely in a way Johanna can feel. In a way she remembers feeling everytime Hilda and Twig and Alfur left on an adventure.

She knows Tontu doesn’t have many friends—isn’t even sure if Hilda considers him a close friend, and the rest of the nisse don’t, she’s heard. They’re envious of his good relationship with her and Hilda. Johanna doesn’t even know what he does in his Nowhere Space, all alone.

“Alright then,” she says, wanting to let him stay, not sure if Kaisa would mind him being with them, during their alone-time. “Enjoy yourself.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

He grabs the cookies, ready to go back to his Nowhere Space, but Kaisa stops him. Maybe she can pick up on Johanna’s thoughts through her body language, or maybe she has those thoughts herself. Whatever it is, Johanna’s ridiculously glad for it resulting in what Kaisa says next. “You can stay here, if you would like. We wouldn’t mind your company.” 

Johanna feels herself fall a little more in love with the woman at that moment, when her kind, caring,  _ soft _ eyes turn to Johanna to ask if it’s okay. She nods with a warm smile.

Tontu immediately jumps onto the couch, settling next to Johanna’s calf, and happily munching on his plate of cookies.

“So,” Kaisa says, after the movie’s finished and Tontu falls asleep. (They’d placed a pillow under his head, covered his little body with a blanket and let him continue sleeping on the couch). “Looks like you’ve taken in a nisse. Hmm, ‘ _ Mom _ ’?”

She laughs, so incredibly happy, and brushes the top of Tontu’s head with her fingers before giving Kaisa a sweet, chaste kiss. “Yeah, looks like I have.”

* * *

“You’re my mum,” Hilda says, crossing her arms and stomping her foot. “ _My_ mum.”

Johanna sighs. “Hilda—”

“No, you don’t understand!”

“Explain it to me, then.”

She doesn’t know how much more of this she can handle. Hilda had come home fine (at least Johanna had thought so, from the way she had skipped in with a grin on her face, Twig at her feet, and bid her a hello as she went to her room). 

“Hilda,” Alfur says, voice sweet and wary by her ear, “maybe you want to take some time to cool down…? Maybe think some things through?”

Hilda growls, and for a second, Johanna thinks for a second she might throw a fit again. “Alright, fine,” she says, finally, after she’s taken a deep breath and thought about it for more than a moment. “I might be overreacting a  _ little _ . I’m just so mad! Those were  _ my  _ cookies, and he took them! Just like he’s taken everything else!”

She tilts her head, confused, because as far as she knows, Tontu’s been on his best behaviour. “What else has he taken, love?”

At this, Hilda looks to the floor, less angry this time—her fury being overtaken by something that seems like sadness. “You,” she mumbles, and Johanna feels her heart break. 

“Oh, my darling, why would you think that?” She says, taking her little girl into her arms and sitting down on the floor. It doesn’t take long before she can feel Hilda crying, and then Johanna finally gets an explanation. A messy, rushed, tearful explanation, but an explanation nevertheless.

“Well, it’s just that he calls you ‘mum’ like you’re  _ his  _ mum! A-and you do things with him that you used to do with me like baking and-and playing games and you care more about him than you care about  _ me  _ and—”

“Hilda, wait,” Johanna says, stopping her and wiping her tears, “wait. Look, you’re right that I care about Tontu, of course I do—”

“— _ I knew it— _ ”

“but—Hilda you didn’t let me finish—but… that doesn’t mean I care about you any less. I have so much care in my heart, more than enough for the both of you. I can care about more than one person at a time, right? I care about Kaisa, don’t I?”

“That’s different,” Hilda says, dejectedly. 

“Is it? It still comes from my heart. In here,” she says, placing a hand on her chest. “And that’s never going to go away, no matter what. Alright?” Sensing Hilda’s feeling a little better, Johanna stands up, kissing her daughter on the nose like she used to when she was small.

“And besides, you have all your friends to hang out with. Twig has you, and Alfur has his reports to work on. Tontu doesn’t have anyone but me, and we don’t want him feeling lonely, right?” Hilda nods. 

“I guess you’re right, Mum,” she says, wiping the last of her tears with the balls of her palms. “And those things I said about him, I really didn’t mean them, I swear I—”

“Why don’t apologise to him yourself?” Johanna asks kindly.

“Yeah. Okay then.” Calling for Tontu, Hilda tries to be as quiet and apologetic about it as she can, in a way that puts a smile on Johanna’s face. It must work, because Tontu shows up not a moment later. “Hey Tontu,” the girl says, hands behind her back anxiously, “I’m sorry about all those things I said. I don’t think you’re a nuisance or a pest at all, I think you’re amazing and wise and really really helpful.”

“Thank you Hilda. And it’s okay. You’re right, I kinda did invade your home.” He laughs in a nervous and guilty way, and Johanna holds back from telling him he doesn’t need to feel guilty at all. “But, to make up for it, I made these cookies. They might taste a bit weird, since I kept them in Nowhere Space for so long but…” 

And he trails off, revealing a tray of cookies from behind his back that he grabbed from the Nowhere Space while he was talking. There are five, each differently coloured and decorated, each with a different name:  _ Hilda, Twig, Alfur, Mum, Tontu _ .

“I made them as a thank you. You’ve all been so kind to me, so I thought I’d do something for you. And I couldn’t resist making one for myself, so—”

He’s cut off by Hilda dropping down to her knees and giving him the tightest hug. “Thank you, Tontu,” she whispers, “I’m glad you’re here.”

Johanna’s heart melts, so unbelievably happy. And after a moment, falls into the hug too, inviting Twig and Alfur. They stay there for what feels like an age, but a warm and fulfilling age, before breaking off and getting ready for dinner—like any other Sunday.

(“Thanks for talking to her, Mom,” Tontu says, later, and Johanna smiles, tells him it was no trouble at all. She really loves him).

And, like any other Sunday, it feels contentedly complete.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! I love you all!
> 
> by the way, I'm on tumblr (as jenhoneys) if you ever want to send me some prompts <3


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